Facial Decay
by StaleMushrooms
Summary: Raven has been murdered. Of course, some aren't happy to just let the past rest, but where does selflessness stop and selfishness begin? BBRae, although it certainly won't pan out how you might like it...
1. Time and a watch

**It is the big bold font. Celebrate it. Here I will list a disclaimer. I do not own the Teen Titans. If the dictators want to say otherwise, let them.**

He reentered the room. They were still sitting in the same spots that they occupied two hours ago. The same pained expression was still fixed on his teammate's faces.

Raven had been murdered.

Well, it was certainly a surprise. Slade had returned shooting fireballs with a strange mark on his head; that was enough for a week wasn't it?

Shouldn't he be sitting in silent mourning with the rest of the team? There they were, Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin. And here he was pacing through the building, looking more like he had been shot up with some strange drug mixture that was blended from all of the seized powders that lay in the vault.

Anxious, he turned back out of the common room and marched back into the halls. Maybe it wasn't enough to know that it happened. Perhaps he should return to the scene of the crime, take it all in again, maybe that would stir up his senses.

His mind rejected the idea immediately. Snapping back to reality, he discovered that he had somehow wandered into Cyborg's room. There were probably some machines to play with in here, Cyborg wouldn't care at the moment; he would never care. Under appreciation was a gift they say. He certainly didn't think so.

None of the gadgets in the room held his interest like they usually did. The computer had turned into a boring trash receptacle of wasted (and wasteful) ideas. Pulling out the drawers of the file cabinet, he discovered an assortment of letters from various 'contacts' of Cyborg. Where was the thrill, the adrenaline rush of discovering something new about his friends? Always left in the dark about everything, he routinely broke into the server files now, soaking up all of the information that wasn't intended for him.

Defeated in his search for something to do, he turned around to leave the room, but something caught his eye. A little watch, resting on the floor in front of the oversized mirror. Initially nothing of interest could be discerned from it. But of course, as with any complex gadget, a well hidden power switch waited behind the cover. Always have to make things so complicated.

A set of dates replaced the timekeeper on the cover. Twisting the little knobs allowed him to adjust them. Everything was set carefully. The watch was set to approximately three days prior to these events. He had inferred it was a time machine/watch/whatever the hell the thing was supposed to be called. Now all that was left to do was see if it worked, and then everything could be set right again.

Fumbling for the activation switch, he found that he had to remove the cover again and then flip the power switch into the ready position. Stupid technology, wasting everyone's time.

No sooner than he thought that, Beast Boy felt his mind being ripped at its very seams, contorted and pulled through some sort of portal that just happened to form inside his head.

The world stopped.

Beast Boy's half alive body grimaced as his mind was reassembled. His vision slowly restored itself and focused. Starfire's concerned face hovered over him.

"Friend Beast Boy, are you alright?"

He was still incapable of making complete sentences, so the only response was a prolonged "Wha…?"

"You just suddenly passed out on the floor while playing the video games."

His eyes managed to move in their sockets, and he found the rest of the team looking at him with concern, including Raven. Success.

"Let me get you back to your room." Cyborg said, reaching out to lift him. Luckily for Beast Boy, his movement capabilities were restored at that exact second, and he was able to leap up and move to the couch.

"You are better now?" Starfire inquired.

He pasted his token smile on. "Of course, I was just getting into the heat of the moment and I just… well you know…"

"Heat of the moment?" Cyborg said with a laugh, "The game hadn't even started!"

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Robin asked, inspecting Beast Boy with his masked eyes.

"I'll be fine, I just need to go to my room and sort out some things," Beast Boy leapt up and bounded out the main door of the commons in a desperate dash for his room. That dash was successful; no one even attempted to stop him. Once inside, he first checked his wrist to make sure the watch was intact. It sat there, gleaming as always. He noticed something else on his wrist though. A temporary tattoo he remembered applying this very day. Wait a second, if he was in the past weren't there supposed to be two of him? That's what comic book laws say.

"Stop dwelling on these idiotic thoughts, you have more important stuff to do." He scolded himself out loud. Who could have done it? It certainly wasn't one of the Titans. But what villain would have the power to commit such an act so discreetly? Slade, yes, it had to be Slade. Then there was all of that stuff about a crazy prophecy though. So Slade killing her would be detrimental to his supposed ultimate goal.

An hour later, and still no results. Star and Cyborg had both come knocking, and he had shooed them away with precision he could have only learned from Raven. He let himself stay on the thought for a few seconds. She wasn't so bad once you knew her better, at least he didn't think so.

Wait, why was he thinking so much? Why was he desperately trying to discover these answers? The normal Beast Boy would have been with the rest of his team right now, basking in the cold reality of death. It was a fact of life he was always told, not meant to be tampered with. He turned the knobs on the watch back to his time period and prepared to press the button that would take him back home.

As if on cue, someone else rapped at his door. Aggravated, he stormed over, opened the door, and prepared to give his visitor an earful.

"I was just wondering…" Raven began, but the look on Beast Boy's face stopped her short. Actually, he looked like he was in some form of mood accelerator. Within the ten seconds she had been looking at him, his face had gone from a look of infuriation to a look of pure agony to an odd look of defiance and then back to an emotionless stare.

"Yes?" He asked in a monotone that would make Raven herself proud.

"It's just… nothing." She said, quickly turning to leave.

"No, you were going to say something, what was it?"

"You seemed different when you got back up after you had passed out. What happened exactly?"

A long pause followed. "I just kind of relaxed back and the next thing I knew I was passed out on the floor. There's not any secret meaning to it, it was just a random occurrence. Nope, nothing to worry about, it's just me." Beast Boy's voice cracked slightly at the end of the final sentence.

"I have a question to ask you." Raven said, her eyes checking both ends of the hallway, "I've been noticing several rather strange happenings inside and around my room as well as the tower. Do you know who's responsible, because it's really starting to agitate me."

Not the question he had been expecting. He choked on the words he was beginning to force out, and excused himself, shutting the door in Raven's face. Not the answer she had been expecting either.

Beast Boy stumbled to his bed, and fell in a kneeling position, his forehead resting on the side. He shouldn't be involved with this, there was no possible way he could figure out who killed her within the course of just three days. It was a useless expenditure of the energy he had left. What did he really expect to do about things anyway?

The shock from the incident finally wore off and his emotions hit him full force, crippling him. He realized he was mimicking the actions of his team, just sitting there frozen, tears pouring down his cheeks.

This was a mistake, all a mistake.

The watch was already set to go back, and without giving it much of a second thought, he pounded the activation switch. Except instead of acting as it was supposed to, the watch fizzled, the numbers randomized, and he was propelled on ahead to a destination he didn't desire.

The world did not stop.

**I feel intrusive, do you? Unlike most authors here, I will not grovel on my knees begging for your feeble reviews. This story is about to get very confusing, very quickly, but it will be kept manageable. Later entries will be much longer, if you so desire, as we will be arriving at the meat. To hell with my policy!**

**REVIEW!**


	2. Party

**First of all, if anyone's wondering about the change to first-person, I needed the first chapter to be a bit more distanced from everything. Also I realized this probably wouldn't work with third, so what better to do than fix early? Anyways, I've got to get my slaves back on duty writing this…**

**Second of all, I hate mail. It scares me. It makes me want to sob with pain. Something like that. If I just ignored mail, my life would be infinitely better. But alas, I must succumb to the allure. First reviewer, you were born with a great privilege. The right to live or die. Actually, wait, I control that privilege. But you still deserve a prize. So when I get married, tear my wife apart and eat her alive, you can have our wedding rings. **

**To answer, it is meant to be slightly confusing. Perhaps a second read would help, I am not here to die on your doorstep. In fact, disregard everything I just said. I'm very confused right now… um… yeah… enjoy. **

My eyes attempted to crack open once again, although this time it took several tries to force them completely up. The soft comfort of a pillow propped my head up, and a toasty blanket was spread over the rest of my body. My gaze fixed itself upon a set of five little ducks hovering above my head spinning in a circle. Since when did I have that in my room? I pushed myself up into a sitting position, and surveyed the rest of my room. Since when was this my room? So neat and tidy, it almost scared me.

A painful spark leapt off my wrist, reminding me of the watch I was still wearing. Well, it used to be a watch, but now it was a burnt husk. Even so, I was having great difficulties recalling just what it was for. Then it occurred to me that I had no idea what had happened last night, or the night before.

I clambered out of the bed and headed for my bathroom. Where was the pile of dirty clothes I always had to step over? I was beginning to think this room belonged to someone else. I scanned myself in the spotless mirror, realizing I looked much older now. Ok, maybe that was an exaggeration, perhaps more like a year or two older. Definitely taller, and looking happier than ever.

Was I supposed to be happy? I can't even remember. I finally noticed the new clock on my wall. I never cared about the time, I tore my clock up, I'm pretty sure. So what the hell was this doing here? Seems like an early time to be up. 6:00. You know, maybe if I just sat down and did something odd like meditate everything would come together…

Then my memories began to return. The unfortunate time travel of the watch. The cold-blooded killing of Raven. Talking to her past self at the door to this very room. Except this wasn't the same time.

Remember Beast Boy, act normal, I told myself. There's nothing out there that can shock you more than what you've seen before. I forced a new set of confused tears back, pasted on a bright, cheerful face, and stepped out of my door.

Wow, new paint job. Can't say I like the dark red, but it certainly looks better than the dreary factory look we had before. I deliberately walked down the hall, trying to delay whatever entrance I was about to make as long as possible. That's when I felt a set of arms wrap around me from behind and tackle me to the ground.

Someone was pressed into my back now, giggling into my ear. I don't think I remember someone ever wanting to tackle me like that, especially a girl. I felt the weight lift off my back, and I got up on my feet, brushing myself off.

"What was that for…" I began, turning around, but I couldn't finish my sentence.

Terra's long forgotten face was smiling back at me. "Beast Boy, which way did you think you were going, we're having the party back in the main room and you have to help me set up; I got up at 4:30 for this!"

"T-T-Terra?" I managed to sound out.

"Is there something wrong?" She said, suddenly looking concerned, "if you don't want to help, that's fine with me. I guess I'll just have to take the moped into my custody."

Moped? I have a working moped? The day wasn't all bad. "Sure, I guess I could help."

"I knew you'd agree!" she said, beaming.

Some answers would be nice right about now. But, now would be a horrible time to ask, right? As I was struggling to sort through my thoughts I felt a kiss on my cheek. I could have just about jumped out of my skin and die right there. This was getting far too complicated for me to handle all at once.

"Come on, hurry up, we have to get everything ready before they arrive!" she said enthusiastically, but I just sat there dumbfounded for a few more seconds, focusing on an exact point in the nothingness of space. Ok, so Terra was a statue, at least in the time I came from. So I either arrived before she had betrayed all of us, or she somehow got free. Sounded like a reasonable conclusion. I think.

"Hello, Beast Boy, stop daydreaming! I SAID WAKE UP!" That certainly got my attention, probably blew out my eardrums too. I rubbed my ears tenderly.

"How'd you come back to…" I stopped. Everything seemed so happy. This wasn't a good time to be asking these questions.

"How'd I come back to what?"

"Nothing, let's get the party decorations set up. What's the party for again? I kind of forgot." I tried to make myself look embarrassed, but I don't think she bought it.

"It's a surprise."

I'm going to set up a party, and I don't even know what, or who, it's for. Of all the things to do I had to get stuck with this stupid f… No. Happy thoughts for happy times, I commanded myself. I'll deal with my baggage later, just enjoy the moment.

I followed Terra out to the commons room. Along the way my thoughts were consumed by endless speculation about why she was back. It was just a concept I couldn't seem to begin to understand. And now, she was acting like she was my girlfriend, of all things. Well, we were pretty close before the Slade incident, but after that a certain other someone had stolen my thoughts. Raven was the reason I was here, not Terra.

Starfire was already setting up some little trinkets. That was at least what she appeared to be doing, although to me it seemed like she was just using them as an excuse to slack off and watch tv.

"Starfire, Beast Boy's up!" Terra yelled across the room. I expected Star to jump straight up from what she was doing and join us at the entrance, but my mind has a knack for being completely wrong. The alien girl very slowly got up from the couch, and with shoulders slumped plodded over to us.

"What's wrong with her?" I whispered in Terra's ear.

"You've really gone braindead today haven't you? She's been like this for a while now, not much any of us can really do about it if that's what you're suggesting."

After what was most likely a minute, she was at the door. Slowly Star raised her eyes to meet Terra's. I don't think I had ever seen her this sad before. Even after Raven's death.

"What do you need?" Star droned.

"Hurry up and get the banner, it's in the closet down the hall." Starfire followed Terra's orders and continued to plod through the door and with heavy feet marched down the hallway.

"She won't be back for a while." Terra said with a grin, turning to me.

I had several burning questions that I was fighting to hold back from being blurted out. I already gave enough of a strange impression. Evidently I had been zoning out again, because when I came back to reality Terra was fiddling with the busted watch on my wrist. "Where'd you get this piece of junk?"

"I… uh…"

"You know Beast Boy, it really doesn't look that bad, it kind of reminds me of my old wandering days before I settled in with the team."

"Yeah… sure…" Being at a loss for words was a pretty good thing right now.

"So where did you get it?"

My struggle to reach an answer continued, but I was saved by a train wreck. Ok, more like Cyborg bowling us both over, grabbing the remote, dropping down onto the couch, and flipping the screen to an action movie. A warning would have been nice.

"Yo, put some eggs and bacon on, I'm starving!" Cyborg yelled from the couch. At least there was one thing that hadn't changed. I made a mental note to talk to him later about the watch. Strange, those events seem so far away now. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep my composure, yet here I am managing to blend in like I had always been here. Maybe, just maybe I could accept life here and forget about what had happened in the past. There were no consequences, at least there shouldn't be.

As I got back up and helped Terra up, Star came back through with the banner. "Where do you want it?" She asked in the same depressed voice.

"Up on the ceiling, just hang it down, but make sure it's curled up."

Wordlessly Star flew up into the air and began to clip the banner to the ceiling. It was oddly mesmerizing to watch her, but I didn't get the chance to ponder it further as a massive metallic hand grabbed me by the neck and yanked me over to the kitchen.

"Look at all of this food!" Cy said, obviously excited. Truly there was a massive amount of food stockpiled in the once humble (and slightly dirty) kitchen. Some of the stuff looked delectable; everything else consisted of massive portions of meat based dishes.

"It's beautiful…" Cy continued, drool making a solid line from his mouth to the floor. I took a few hasty steps away and ran back into Terra.

Terra gave me a huge hug, of which I did not even respond to.

"I'm so happy for them!"

What? For who?

"You know, ours is coming up too, I hope we get a party just like this!"

Our what?

The blare of music interrupted my thoughts. "They're here!" Terra shouted over it, and there was a massive shower of confetti. The banner unfurled.

Raven and Robin walked into the room, holding hands. I looked up. The banner said "Happy One Year Anniversary!" in huge bold type. My first reaction was one of gratitude, that I actually would get to be with Raven thanks to this little watch. My second more educated reaction consisted of my throat constricting, a horrible feeling rising in my stomach, and the incredible urge to just die.

Wasted effort my mind announced, wasted.

**Above all else, this will not be a Beast Boy/Terra fic, as the next chapter or two should show. Of course, if no one cares, there's no need to post them and…**

**I'm confusing myself beyond belief, just do something.**

**Remember, don't take life with a grain of salt, take it with a pack of mushrooms. **


	3. Premature End

**You know what? I was sitting here ALONE, and I decided to update this little thing. Do you know what ALONE means? As in nobody's there? As in nobody cares? Pointless contrivances, to hell with them. Maybe I should be a nice little puppy, just maybe…**

I was staring. I really don't think anyone noticed. They entered the room with an air of royalty, a genuine look of surprise on both of their gleaming faces. My expression was inappropriate for the situation, but no one really cared, they were too busy caring about _my_ failure. How did I really fail though? I mean, I accomplished my goal, and I should be satisfied.

My fists were clenched, and to my surprise I felt a slight trickle of blood on my fingers. Evidently my nails had torn right through the tips of my gloves and dug straight into my poor palm. I averted my eyes to make sure no one had become aware of how uncomfortable I looked. Starfire was blankly watching the couple, though I could see, or rather sense a yearning in her eyes for something. Cyborg and Terra were both clapping fervently and ran forward to hug them in greeting. I didn't follow.

Instead I turned my head to Starfire and made eye contact. I held her gaze for only a second before she snapped away. What was wrong with her anyways? I was given no time to ponder the thought; a familiar hand was waving itself in front of my face and making a nuisance of itself.

"Terra, what is it?"

"What is it?" She was obviously infuriated, "You're sitting here, staring into space like an idiot, while your friends are celebrating their anniversary! Can't you at least be courteous and wish them good luck or something equally civil?"

"Good luck," I muttered spitefully. Her fist threatened me. I repeated the phrase again, except louder.

"That's good enough," She said, looking very disappointed in me, but that wasn't one of my chief concerns at the moment.

Raven separated from Robin to get something to drink at the punch bowl we'd set up. Robin was chatting with Cyborg; reminiscing about the past year. Terra joined Raven at the drinks and they started talking in a surprisingly friendly manner, surprising to me at least. Starfire kept to herself in her seat, and I was, as Terra put it, staring into space like an idiot.

So there we all were, after their grand entrance the happy couple and the rest of the members of the team had settled into a jovial mood, enjoying the rays of sun that shone through our massive window panes. Starfire seemed to perk up a little bit and was talking to Terra now. I was on the outskirts of the other conversation circle, idly listening in as Robin, Raven, and Cyborg talked.

"Man, you remember Larry, Robin?" Cyborg said, nudging him.

"Nosyarg Kcid?" The pronunciation was horribly butchered, not that there really was a way to say that in the first place, "How could I forget, that guy was crazy. Remember that hairdo he gave Raven?"

"That was," She paused, "horrifying. I do wish he had permanently gotten rid of Beast Boy's ability to talk."

Nobody spoke, and I realized the conversation had been passed on to me, except I couldn't find anything to say. "Um, well, that was cool when the city was messed up and colorful," My three friends looked at me expectantly, "How about that Johnny Rancid guy?" This seemed to satisfy them as they started chatting animatedly about their battles with the rocker. I didn't stick around for fear of being sucked back in and having more words forced out of me. I cautiously made my way towards the door with the intention of heading back to my room, but Terra was in my way.

"Where are you going?" She queried, still agitated from my actions earlier.

"I'm tired of the party." I said bluntly.

Terra cocked her head to the side and examined me with her eyes. She reached for my hand but I yanked it away. "You're in a rotten mood for such a great day. I hope you fix your attitude while you're in there because it's really starting to piss me off." I couldn't tell whether she was on the brink of tears or an anger outburst. Nevertheless, I slowly, casually walked out of the common room, leaving the party behind.

**Fine, so it's a little short. Serious plot development next chapter, if you're all nice enough to review. Usually I'm not very accepting of praise though. Oh well, just follow your heart or your head and do what you think is right. Or better yet, don't listen to those stupid adages. **


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